Selenium Deficiency and Thyroid Health.

[Ellie-Louise]

I read this and wondered if selenium is in all these foods and an overdose is dangerous, how do we know if/when we may be taking too much. I put Brazil nuts in my morning nutriblend drink too.

It's a very interesting article though.

mailchi.mp/nahypothyroidism...

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Ellie-Louise Brazil nuts have to be grown in selenium rich soil to contain any selenium, and the amount of selenium in soil varies. Selenium is highest in rainforest areas. The eastern Amazon, central Brazil and South Africa produce Brazil nuts with the highest amount of selenium. Have a look at the packet of nuts you buy and if it says 'Grown in selenium rich soil' or similar then 2 or 3 a day will give all the selenium needed, if it doesn't say that then there is no discernible amount of selenium in them.

Here's an article which lists symptoms of selenium toxicity

globalhealingcenter.com/nat...

If you wanted to test your selenium level, I understand that the whole blood test (venous blood draw) is better than the serum blood test.

[Ellie-Louise in reply to SeasideSusie]

I came across this earlier too, I wouldn't have thought of radioactive anything apart from hospitals or labs.

Are Brazil nuts radioactive?

Brazil nuts (especially the ones grown in Brazil) grow on trees with deep roots, which reach down to soil high in natural radium, a source of radiation. The roots absorb the radium, which then makes its way to the nuts. As a result, the radium levels of Brazil nuts can be 1000 times what you'd see in other foods.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Ellie-Louise]

I'd not heard about that. I think I'll stick to my supplement then

I don't eat Brazil nuts on their own, but I do buy Jordan's Four Nut Muesli and that has Brazil nuts in it. But I would think you would have to eat a fair few regularly to really worry about this (but I'm no expert on this subject!)

[Ellie-Louise in reply to SeasideSusie]

It's amazing what comes to light once you start delving. 😁

[Ellie-Louise]

This morning I checked the bag for country of origin, re: Brazil nuts. There is no sign of one only that they were packed in the UK. I bought them in Asda so I need to check with the packer. IPL Telford.

Hmmm! So that is not going to be easy, their FB page is outdated with seemingly no posting or messaging ability, and their company web page tells you all about the company and what they do.

So I am just about to write an email to ask them the question instead.

[LAHs in reply to Ellie-Louise]

I eat 2 Brazil nuts every day from a bag with no markings on them about how much selenium in them, nor even where they come from. Just out of curiosity I had my selenium measured via a "nutriment and toxic elements" blood test from True Health Labs (the equiv of Blue Horizon) and found my selenium to be 0.6 on a scale of (0.25 - 0.76). It is far safer to get heavy metal nutriment elements from a food source, you will be less likely to overdose.

Regarding how do you know if you are taking too much, you should get blood tests. One of the first signs of Se poisoning is your hair falling out! So keep an eye on your levels. Get to a point where you know exactly how many nuts to eat. For Se it's 2.

Just for the record, I usually agree with most things Seaside Suzy says, but on the subject of how to get Se, we disagree. There is SO much selenium in Brazil nuts that even a feeble one will supply your daily requirement.

[Ellie-Louise in reply to LAHs]

On the bag from Asda/Walmart which weighs 270g. it says that there are 10 servings of approx 25g. each.

I have just randomly weighed out 25g and counted 11 nuts. They are just normal sized Brazil's, not too big and not too small.

So does that mean that they know these nuts from Bolivia and Peru have only a low average selenium value, or can it be that the designers of food bags know nothing of nutrition? It makes you wonder if this is the reason for the lower prices.

[LAHs in reply to Ellie-Louise]

OK, you just left me with a nightmare of units, but that's what I enjoy. Now, remember that nuts are going to vary but, according to my tables 100g of Brazils have 1917mcg Se in them, that is 3485% of your recommended daily allowance (RDA)! So your 25g will yield 480 mcgs ( div by 4) Se which is 870% of your RDA - So please don't eat 11 nuts. Now, if we require 100% of the RDA we divide everything by 8.7, including your 11 nuts. This works out at just over one nut, I would round that up to 2 nuts, which appears to be a "universal constant" in the Brazil nut world.

The only way to tell is to eat 2 nuts per day for about a month then get a blood test. See where you are, if those nuts are particularly potent (i.e. 100% came to 1.2nuts) then drop back to 1 and a bit. If your selenium is not even on the charts then up you intake to 3.

[Ellie-Louise in reply to LAHs]

You and puzzles eh? the post woman has just knocked our door to deliver the jigsaw I ordered the other day. Lol

But I would never eat 11 anyway, and as a rule I usually put around 4 in my daily drink and whiz it all up. Probably if they were nuts from a higher selenium occurring country (now that SeasideSusie has enlightened us all with her link) I would only eat 2. I'm going to Sainsbury's later so will check out their bags. x

[Ellie-Louise]

This is the reply that I received:

"We source our Brazil nuts from Bolivia and Peru".

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Ellie-Louise]

According to this list, Brazil nuts from Bolivia have 8mcg selenium per nut and those from Peru have 33mcg per nut

honey-guide.com/2012/11/19/...

I remember a while ago someone mentioned that Sainsburys nuts stated on the packet that they were grown in selenium rich soil. It might be worth checking that out and see if they come from an area where the selenium content is higher.

[Ellie-Louise in reply to SeasideSusie]

That is so interesting Susie, thank you.

[jacrjacr]

good point...I did a supplement and ate a lot of the foods and I tested high...and high can make your hair fall out.....6mths later after no supplements...I was still high on blood test......I was also high in vitamin a.......and I did overdo the supplements...just a multi and a thyroid support supplemen occasionally....I was shocked! I think chia seeds may have been the culprit on selenium...